This invention relates to a ball screw assembly of the type in which a pair of axially alined ball nuts are adapted to be preloaded on a ball screw. The preloading may be effected either by rotating one of the nuts toward the other nut to jam adjacent end faces of the nuts together or by rotating the nuts apart and then forcing the nuts axially toward one another. Thereafter, the nuts are locked against relative rotation in order to maintain the preload.
Various arrangements have been devised for locking the nuts against relative rotation after the preloading has been effected. Some prior arrangements require that the nuts be turned to predetermined relative angular positions before locking can be achieved. Other arrangements allow the nuts to be locked together regardless of their relative angular positions (i.e., stepless locking). Such stepless arrangements are of complex structure and, in some cases, require considerable time to effect the preloading and locking.